Plate tectonics drives variation in sea-level, over intervals of approximately107–108years. These variations may have significant effects on the pace of (biological) evolution through the elimination of terrestrial niches and the expansion of shallow-water marine niches. However, within the solar system, only the Earth experiences this kind of tectonism. Venus displays regional tectonism, characterized by rising diapirs within the plastic mantle. Impinging on the lithosphere, these plumes produce a range of structures of varying dimensions; the uplift of which would raise sea-level, were Venus to have oceans. Using Magellan observations of Venus, we model the impact of regional tectonism on sea-level for given areas of Venusian ocean, then compare the effect with terrestrial tectonic processes for similar oceanic area. We show that despite variation in the geographical extent of Venusian-style tectonic processes, the styles of regional tectonism on Venus can produce the same order of magnitude changes in sea-level, for a given area of ocean, as plate tectonics. Consequently, we examine some of the impacts of marine transgression on habitability and the evolution of life.

中文翻译：

---

构造样式对海侵演化的影响

板块构造驱动海平面变化，间隔大约为 107–108年。通过消除陆地生态位和扩大浅水海洋生态位，这些变化可能对（生物）进化的速度产生重大影响。然而，在太阳系内，只有地球经历了这种构造运动。金星显示出区域构造，其特征是塑料地幔内的底辟上升。这些羽流撞击岩石圈，产生一系列不同尺寸的结构。如果金星有海洋，它的隆起会提高海平面。利用麦哲伦对金星的观测，我们模拟了金星海洋给定区域的区域构造对海平面的影响，然后将这种影响与类似海洋区域的陆地构造过程进行了比较。我们表明，尽管金星式构造过程的地理范围有所不同，对于给定的海洋区域，金星上的区域构造类型可以产生与板块构造相同数量级的海平面变化。因此，我们研究了海侵对宜居性和生命进化的一些影响。